Scafell Pike…the Prequel

We must be mad!

Less than a month to go till the National 3 Peaks Challenge and the trainings coming a long OK, aiming for peak (no pun intended) fitness in the days immediately before. Yesterday we decided to go on one slightly bigger training outing to practice on Scafell Pike!

Surely the conditions must be perfect to drive the almost 4 hours there, race up and down and drive back in a day. Well, not quite. The weather forecast said wet and windy! Top temperature 8 degrees (feels like 3), wind - 30 miles an hour, visibility -very poor, humidity -99%. What’s not to look forward to? Oh and the 900+ metres of elevation gain in a bit less than 6 miles.

The good news was that the rain had stopped by the time we arrived at Wasdale Head, the start point for the climb. But it looked pretty cloudy up top.

The first real obstacle was crossing Lingmell Gill which in dry weather is little more than a damp path with a couple of stepping stones. Yesterday, after all the rain it was a real challenge to get across with dry feet.

Some people were getting carried across! So, with slightly/very wet feet we started the steep steps that go almost to the top and were very quickly in the cloud, which is a little bit like someone walking beside you misting you constantly from a spray bottle. Still, better than full on rain.

We finally got to the top, which came as a bit of a surprise because we couldn’t see further than 20 feet until we were right there.

Most of the elite mountain team!

We look so happy…and damp! 😆 Just time for quick selfie, something to refuel on, then off running back down. It’s amazing how my mood changes when the climbing stops. Anything felt possible at that point and we set off back like mountain goats!

We did go considerably faster going down, but it was very wet and slippery and there were a few falls! Nothing too serious thankfully.

The cloud was starting to lift a little, revealing more of the valley below. And after another perilous crossing of Lingmell Gill we were on the home straight. I pretty much walked straight through the water this time as I knew we didn’t have far to go, and it was safer than rock hopping.

So, mission accomplished in 2hrs 50 mins. Well within what we’ll need to be doing during the Challenge proper. 👍🏻 We celebrated with an icecream and got back in the car for the 4 hr journey home.

As the cloud continued to clear we were treated to some stunning views of the northern Lake District in the early evening sun. Sorry no photos - I was driving.

We arrived home 12 hrs after setting off. It was a long way to go, but we did get a good work out in less than perfect conditions and an excessive amount of time sitting in a car in slightly damp clothes. All good practice for the real deal on Tuesday June 24th. 😀

But it also became clearer how challenging doing not 1, but 3 mountains, interspersed with all the travel, is going to be. 😬

Just a reminder that the fundraising (when donations will be doubled) starts at midday on Monday 23rd June and runs to midday on Monday 30th June. All the links on the dedicated 3 Peaks website will be updated then and take you to the In2Out Big Give donations page.

Thanks for all the words of encouragement and commitment to donate. It means a lot.

3 more weeks to go!